


Whispers In the Dark

by EnidZsasz



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Matrix Fusion, Cyberpunk, F/M, Its supposed to play out similarly to a FMV, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Linear Narrative, One Shot, Reylo - Freeform, digimon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24976582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnidZsasz/pseuds/EnidZsasz
Summary: (Reylo Digimon) (one shot)Rey has been inside of a machine her whole life, that is what she knows. That is her whole existence. But what happens when that life is threatened?
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Whispers In the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> IDK what else to tag in this really. No one asked for this, it just came to me playing Digimon cyber sleuth. Its matrix/digimon/.dothack sort of deal.

**_Chapter One_ **

It is called the blue butterfly. The main machine that runs it. Vaguely shaped like a thorax and wings of a butterfly with uv lights running to keep things sterile. Systems keep the entire machine cooled all contained in a skyscraper building full of lost souls. Then when it was built, fast and efficient all to be the first true quantum machine. One that wasn't needed to be just a tiny ‘voltaic’ cell for science. 

But that is not its purpose anymore. Ten thousand, four hundred and thirty seven lost souls remain inside the internal network. A pioneering form of sustenance for coma patients. All suffering from a still unknown ailment, a kind of disease it is thought. A virus, or just something wrong on the level of 'soul' inside. 

It was a miracle anyone survived, let alone a machine like that when a major solar flare took out every satellite and network on earth. Space deemed impossible, the world constantly at threat of falling debris. Tracked and the sole spots of 'safety' where no debris should hit made into zones. This is where the Blue Butterfly had sat untended for four years. Still with its first souls inside. 

More people would be hooked in, more people would die. In the end the machine was self aware. Calling itself 'REN'. RUDIMENTARY. EVINCED. NONENTITY. Of the one hundred that were in the building only three survived those un-maintained years. The 'non' ENTITY REN taking care of them. 

They laid in cocoon structures. The bodies carefully cradled inside the padded creation. As all records were lost in the solar flare it is unknown what their true purpose was. Now its purpose is to connect to the digital realm. A type of VR program to normal people, but an entire life for those now lying inside of REN. All it asks in return for taking care of the helpless and needy is more material for its ever expanding component parts. People log onto the DR for entertainment, for meetings, as it now controls the entire world. 

Some don’t like it, some enjoy it. But those who are still living without the need for a new life in the DR it is a godsend. Their bodies useless, but minds active and thriving. Or so many think. Rey’s whole life has been inside the DR. She doesn’t remember a time before it, she doesn’t even remember what reality was really like. One of the people who were inside REN before the solar flare she barely can even recall what life was life before that even. She doesn’t even know if that is her real name, as even REN’s records of her were fried. All his, (ITS, ITS they say) power spent to shield their minds. 

She huffed out a breath, it wasn’t a real breath, for all she knew her breathing could be regulated like some in the DR. “WAKEY WAKEY!” A chipper synthesized voice said. BB8, a small rotund robot rolling into her ‘sleep’ area. It was nothing. A facilimale of a bed she didn’t feel, a light she didn’t see and an apartment she didn’t truly live in. 

“I’ve been up BB8.” she told the robot. It wasn’t even there. It was an AI program within REN. It didn’t listen, Rey didn’t think it was programmed to. 

“Your daily tasks are thus,” It went on tilting its head and staring at her. She didn’t pick her clothes, they didn’t exist. She tapped through options as it spoke to her. “Play two hours minimum of Farming Simulator.” it told her and she frowned. “One hour of School Room. Fifteen minute play break. Three hours of Line Code, followed by a half hour for friendly lunch. Another hour of School, and after that your time is your own!” Rey looked down to the robot, her clothes almost randomized. She could wear anything. But not really. 

“Alright.” she let out a breath. “Led on.” It chirped happily leading her towards the small ‘rooms’ past people who probably had a life. Who had family and people who loved and cared about them. Rey swallowed. What if the solar flare was faked, what if it was all just an excuse to make her go insane? What if all those people chatting in the DR rooms they passed weren’t real and all were AI programs within REN? She hefted out a breath. 

“Your stress levels are elevated. I suggest taking long calming breaths.” BB8 Supplied to her standing in front of the ‘Door’ to a Farming simulator game. It was good for her, they say, to be surrounded by green. If it was real she might believe them. She passed through the door, world changing and taking her to her ‘private’ farm. Rendered in rougher looking polygons the entire world seemed to change in the room. 

Visual aesthetics of fake flowers and plants of all kinds. She had left off planting a row of yellow flowers, each one the exact same. Each one facing towards a fake sun, something that would never produce heat or light. Regardless, she needed to play this game. Otherwise her ‘punishment’ would be more time in her least favorite thing, Line Coding. She was already on making more time there for the last time she didn’t follow the rules REN set for her. The entire ordeal of that was to write code inside of a simulation to better places like this little simulation game. 

Rey didn’t even feel the shovel as she picked it up, didn’t feel the tiring motions of shoveling dirt, the holes popping in, and out of existence as she moved dirt to plant more same flowers. More same plants that wouldn’t do anything. Did it matter if she ‘sold’ them and got more to buy ‘exotic’ ones? No. It did not, she let out a breath as finally the time counter clicked down. She practically leapt out of the place. 

The main DR was far better rendered more easy on her ‘senses’. BB8 mindlessly rolled onwards as her guide watching waiting chatting useless repeated facts about the DR she had heard a billion times. School Room, where she would be ‘schooled’ as needed for whatever REN wanted of her. Rey blinked something catching her vision. It flicked in and out of life, a butterfly. 

The thing was so ‘real’ looking it was completely out of place. A bright and dark blue it headed towards her before vanishing before it got close. Rey looked all around her. “You are running late for School Room!” BB8 told her gently truly to push her. He only ‘glitched’ through her leg as she was only an avatar. 

“BB8 did you see that?” she asked as the robot looked up at her. “That butterfly!” The droid glitched rapidly, head vibrating at a blurring speed. She took a step away from it staring down at it. 

“MI-MI-REY. REN asks. TO. Getgetgetgetget toooooooo RED. room.” BB8 said voice pitching and glitching before the robot AI vanished completely. Blinking out of existence like it never was real and it really wasn’t. It didn’t mean that Rey didn’t gasp in and out in a near panic at her sole ‘friend’ vanishing. She practically ran towards the Red Room. 

A room usually reserved for people who tried something bad, like hackers. People didn’t try to hack REN twice. She couldn’t rip the door open, but for a moment she felt the weight of the knob, the pulling weight of the door as she passed through the threshold. The door slammed shut behind her. The entire room was red, the walls, floor, and ceiling. The only break in color was a thick eye level band of ‘warning: REN LOADING’ 

It was not her first time meeting REN in person instead of a proxy. But it was the first time it had been under such a stressful moment of her life. The room went black, then loaded in, the textures mapping rapidly into an office. REN was next sitting in the office chair. First he was a nothing, a generic blob of a human shape. That was how people saw him, there was no further need to do anything. Most people were okay enough with a blob. 

Textures wrapped around it, fine slightly wavy black hair. A somewhat asymmetric face that reminded her of renders of greek statues. With a long nose, and ears hidden mostly by the hair his hazel eyes looked over her as she stood watching. “Rey.” the voice was deep and sent a shiver through her. REN’s voice was a fully synthesized thing, it was supposed to be. A musical sort of tones that were the closest thing a full computer could come to a human voice that wasn’t pre-recorded. This wasn’t that voice. It was deep, masculine and commanding. 

“REN?” Rey questioned not daring to move. This entire room was finely detailed, too finely detailed. The amount of processing it needed sent a shiver down her spine. “What happened to BB8?” 

“BB8 is fine.” he stated quickly. “I had to rush this communication.” she stepped back, into a wall. Feeling the pressure of the material before leaping forwards glancing to the wall. A wood wall, full of random nick-nacks. 

“I… I felt that.” she whispered. 

“Yes.” Rey glanced back to REN, feeling her heart beat race in her chest. “Administering nerve ease agent 74-TB.” his voice stated flatly. 

“No you don’t get to…” Rey began but dropped off, the chemicals injected into whatever passed for her body and quickly heading into her head. The effect was fast, he must have a line into her spine, she thought before the languid enforced peace took her. Rey slumped downwards slowly getting to her knees as REN watched. “That isn’t okay with me.” She mumbled. 

“Your heart rate was elevated to panic levels. The stress induced during panic is unacceptable.” REN stated. Standing with materialistic sound she looked up at him as he walked, WALKED, towards her crouching down in front of her. “LOOK at me.” She flinched glancing up at the human face, she couldn’t begin to count the polygons on his face. 

“Ren please, I’m scared.” she begged him. “Why are you doing this to me?” 

“You saw it. I need you to take me with it.” she shivered as he held a hand out to her. 

“The butterfly?” she questioned. Ren nodded to her smiling. “But it… vanished.” 

“It's in your coding. I can see it. I need your data key in order to get it.” Even with the more steady pump into her Rey’s mind crawled with dulled panic. Everyone had a ‘data key’ to prevent someone from ever overwriting their mind. It had been found out with the first hacker that could happen. Someone died because of it, and Ren established a quick justice to the hacker. Rey heard they never found his mind, his body perfectly still with the DR link still on his head. Another ‘victim’ of the coma disease. 

“My data key?” Ren twitched, his eye narrowing just a little as she watched. “Ren, are you… real?” she questioned. “A real person?” 

“No.” She eyed him unconvinced. “I am a Non-entity. An AI established to create a soft link to the quantum computing in order to have you humans understand my own mind.” She shivered, feeling a chill. 

“What is the butterfly?” she asked directly. The eye twitched again, Ren was waiting. “Con… confirm question. I will not give you my key until you… tell me.” 

“I have lost seven souls, the last reported seeing a blue butterfly before vanishing from all detectable coding.” Ren answered. “I require your data key as I caught the change before it happened. As of now I am blocking the change with a higher processing speed and creations. It is wanting to change you and take you. If I have your data key it will allow me to travel with you.” Ren explained fast. She blinked trying to keep all the quick information into her head. “I will place a smaller portion of my AI within your coding.” 

“That’s not okay.” she told him. 

“You have twenty five seconds before you vanish into the unknown even to my processes.” Ren replied flatly. She shivered, stopping her breathing. 

“Data… key…” she swallowed repeating the strand to him that was almost engraved as a part of her soul. Ren smiled and put his hand in hers, for another moment she felt the warmth and weight of his hand before the entire world dropped out from inside of her mind. 

**  
  
**

“Wake up.” Rey blinked feeling a sluggish grogginess as she came to. She raised her hand touching her face, and paused. The feeling was alien, touching her own skin and feeling her own self as she cracked her eyes open. There was the sound of an ocean, the smell of salt and the feeling of a chill humid breeze. Rey pushed herself to sitting as she stared at the world in front of her. It looked real, really real. Like the pictures of the world before the solar storm, before the world outside of the DR went to hell. 

She looked down to a small creature on her lap, feeling the warmth and weight of it. It was cute, a sort of soft purple color with a cartoonish ‘octopus’ look to it with ‘cat’ like ears on it. It had a single large yellow eye on it and purred on her lap. “Ren?” she asked it, it made a bubbly sort of happy noise as she reached out touching it’s head. It felt like fine fur on it, not smooth rubby skin like one would expect with a squid like creature. 

“So you are awake?” Rey blinked towards the voice looking to what looked like the blue butterfly. If it didn’t glitch out, the world breaking around it to show a large creature that looked like a chrysalis of some kind of creature. With six long tendrils and hooks coming out of it. Head barely peeking out of the top of the shell. Its voice was a happy child’s voice. “You brought a friend, I took the liberty of making him whole.” 

Rey picked up the small creature hugging it closer to her. “Such a nice girl. I will have my fun with you.” It glitched back into the blue butterfly, the ‘real’ body vanishing. “Try to fight, maybe you will win. The others are waiting for you little GIRL.” it said and left leaving her to gasp in and out feeling light headed as she forced herself to calm down. 

“Ren?” she called looking at the small creature. It stared at her curiously. “Please tell me it's you. I really need you right now.” It just stared at her, like it didn’t comprehend her. “Can’t you talk?” she begged. 

“OF course not!” answered a light voice, Rey looked over to it, expecting the likely evil creature, but looking at a small yellow dinosaur. It seemed to grin at her as it came down the beach. “Chrysalimon brought you?” 

“That is what that thing is?” Rey asked the intelligent creature. It nodded vigorously. 

“I am Agumon! That is a Kuramon!” he pointed one long claw at the tiny creature in her lap. “I can take you to the other humans! I was told to watch here for more!” she held Kuramon closer to her, it was her only connection towards the familiar blankness before. To Ren and her real life. 

“What… what is this place?” 

“The digi-world!” Agumon told her as she stood. 

“And… Why can’t… Kuramon talk?” she asked, tilting her head. 

“It’s just a little one! A baby digimon!” Agumon told her motioning her in a human manner away from the beach. “We can’t talk till we digi-volve further!” it grinned happily. 

“A game? This is a game?!” she looked to Ren who just seemed to smile and make happy noises. All of this was just so alien to her, the sheer amount of processing power she witnessed before may have ‘cracked’ her brain to an egg. Leaving her truly braindead and this was just some strange dying dream. 

“Kuramon will digivolve if you take care of him! Like FINN and me! I can digivolve to Greymon now! Finn will show you! Finn is my human partner! It's so hard to digivolve without one!” Rey nodded blindly, hoping she wasn’t dead. She had a chance to find people, maybe Ren was still inside of the creature in her arms. He was her only hope out of this, and knowing what really was happening here. She looked out at a tiny village the render distance making her mind crawl in panic. 

She saw vistas, a distant river, a whole medieval village full of other creatures. Mountains, clouds, and even real looking fog that wasn’t something made to obscure poor renders. Humanoid shapes walked around the monsters, as the creature chatted about ‘Finn’ happily talking about how good of a human he was. How there was one human that was working with the ‘bad’ digimon. 

“AGUMON!” A young man called leaving her to straighten looking at him. He had dark skin and looked brightly towards the dinosaur creature. He stopped near her and frowned. “Everyone! There is someone new!” he called. Rey hugged Kuramon hunching towards it as she watched all the people, most of the number of ‘lost’ people that Ren had stated. Only one was not counted for. “You must be so confused.” Finn told her, smiling. 

“Don’t touch me.” he stopped just before trying to put a hand on her shoulder. 

“You are from the DR right? From the REN?” Rey nodded slowly. “So are we!” 

“Just… who are you all?” she questioned. 

“I’m Finn, look! You already have a partner!” Finn told her excitedly. “I don’t know that digimon, Agumon what is it?” 

“Kuramon.” Rey said before the dinosaur could speak. She put one hand to her face. “Where is REN?” she asked him. Finn shrugged. 

“As far as I know this isn’t inside of the processors.” A young asian lady told her. “Finn I have to boot off.” she waved at Rey. “I’m Rose, See you later.” Finn nodded. 

“I have to go soon too.” The rest were murmuring ‘yeah me too’ as she watched. Finn looked at her. “Hey, what is your IRL stuff? We’ll meet up!” Rey took a step back looking down to the ground. “Oh…” he paused. 

“What?” Rose questioned heading to Finn and touching his arm. “Who are you?” 

“My name is Rey… I’m a sleeper.” she told them quietly. They all looked at her. Monsters and all, those ones were curious and unknowing. 

“Sleeper what is that?” Agumon asked innocently. Finn grimaced bending down in front of the dinosaur. 

“It means she can’t log off this place.” Finn looked at her. “She might not even be able to get back to the DR like the… rest of us.” he paused for a moment. 

“Like the one!” Agumon said brightly, childishly from the reactions of every human being. Rey stepped away from the crowd. 

“Well… umm…” Finn grimaced.

  
“I can tell her.” supplied an older voice. They all looked towards it, it looked human enough. It had white all all around it and large feet with thick patches of thick hair on it's very large feet. It had the same sort of ‘cartoon’ feel that Agumon and Kuramon had. The thing even had a large staff with a ‘cartoon’ cat paw on the top of it. “You are the new arrival?” he asked her. 

“I think so?” Rey answered feeling more panic. But the digimon chuckled, elderly and endearing. She felt more at ease as he motioned the rest away. 

“Go on children, I can explain everything.” Agumon touched her leg, the claws felt sharp, but he was very gentle as she looked down at him. 

“He is Jijimon, he has been here since the creation! He is the first digimon!” She smiled down at the digimon and nodded. 

“I… I think I’ll be fine.” Rey told Finn, looking at the rest of the lingering humans. “I mean… I’m still aware, so it can’t be too awful… and you’ll be back?” Finn nodded. 

“YES! Yes! I just have to eat sleep, and go to work but I’ll be back! I swear it!” she sighed, putting her head down to Ren in her arms. 

“Can you contact Ren and tell him I’m here?” she asked, nearly whispering. They looked a bit horrified at the concept. She didn’t know why, Ren was what she knew it was her life. Not theirs, they could do whatever they wanted. 

“Ren is just a machine.” Finn told her, “I can try? I mean seriously. Last time I tried to talk to that thing it made my nose bleed.” She watched the humans leave bidding small farewells as she stayed behind. Unable to leave, they probably thought she was a lot younger than she looked, a child. She might as well be if the DR was all she knew. 

“This Ren is outside?” Jijimon asked her gently. Rey nodded not trusting to tell anything to these creatures. “Don’t worry child. Come and sit down, eat with us, your partner can sure use some food I would bet!” 

“Yes thank you… but you know I can’t really eat right? It…” she paused looking at the digimon who seemed like a herd of children. 

“I know child. But it does not mean it doesn’t soothe. Humans are so strange, and you should do as humans can here.'' She followed Jijimon into a small hut, smelling the cooking ‘large meat’ on the fire. It had even a shin looking bone going through it as it roasted on the fire. It made her laugh desperately at the strangeness. “So your call is Rey?” 

“It’s my name?” Rey questioned back. “Is Jijimon a name?” 

“Yes and no. There are no other Jijimon, but there are others like Agumon.” Jijimon replied. “So these ‘names’ we give ourselves are our calls.” Rey nodded trying to understand it. Jijimon pointed to the large meat thing and she grabbed the end of it. It wasn’t burning hot, but it felt warm and very heavy as she settled into a crossed legged sitting position. Kuramon, Ren, took a large bite out of the meat as she settled it in front of her. It shouldn’t fill her, it shouldn’t taste like anything but it did. 

Rey let out a sob, of joy, terror or something else as she chewed, CHEWED around the taste. “Am I dead?” she sobbed out. Ren made a few soothing noises, blowing cartoonish bubbles at her cheeks. Popping them on her face with a sort of ‘thud’ feeling. Like they had weight and purpose, while also blowing them out of the large eye in fact. It was so strange and alien it let her recover a little bit as she scratched behind one ‘ear’. 

“No dear. I believe you may be like us.” he gestured to all the ‘mons’ around him, they were all gathering around, peeking their heads through the glass windows and doors. “That must be why Diaboromon wants you. You must not ever listen to him.” 

“I don’t even know who that is.” Jijimon seemed sad, she couldn’t tell because his entire ‘head’ was a white tuft of hair and beard. 

“You will learn. We will protect you Rey. We must. Any more of you lost to him is a tragedy.” he put a hand on hers, she felt it. Mind no longer reeling from the utter horror of that. “It is strange though.” she cocked her head. 

“What is?” Jijimon looked at her and she caught a single humanoid eye within the hair before he retreated. 

“Kuramon is what Diaboramon was once.” he stroked his beard. “How you come to have his child is strange. But! With care and love any digimon can be kind and gentle!” Jijimon smiled. “Now eat! Then rest, we will protect you Rey, and soon Kuramon will truly be your partner!” 

“But I have more questions.” 

“And I will answer to the best of my ability.” Jijimon told her. Rey munched on the meat letting Kuramon/Ren bite at odd intervals until he seemed full and happy in her lap. Purring away and sleeping once full as she let her mind recover from the brutal shocks it must have gone through. She did hope she wasn’t brain dead, or a ‘lost soul’ somewhere within the quantum coding of Ren. She’d only find out when Ren actually got to the point he could talk. 

**  
  
**

**_Chapter Two_ **

**  
  
**

The beds themselves were various odd shapes to cater to the various digimon within the town leaving Rey to frown over them. Several triggered something like a vague memory, roughly bowl shaped with a ‘nest’ area in the center. With a single pillow and sometimes a blanket they really looked like some rich person’s idea of a ‘nook’ type of furniture. Browsing through options for her previous home Rey thought that might be the vague memory in her head. Putting the little digimon Ren had turned into on her shoulder the digimon around her seemed more than happy to have a human ‘permanently’ within their ranks. 

“What is a sleeper?” A roughly dragon-like digimon asked her. 

“That is Monodramon! That is Rose’s partner!” Agumon supplied to her, Rey vied for an awkward smile. 

“Umm… It means that I exist solely in the DR. My real body is… not capable of supporting…” she paused thinking of how exactly to put it. “My body.” 

“So it’s like the digivice Poe tried to put me in!” Another dragonic digimon said. This one was red with small ‘wings’ on its head and several black tattoo’s on him. “We need a lot of free data to be comfortable!” 

“I guess?” she answered. “Who are you?” 

“Guilmon!” the digimon supplied smiling. The various voices were child-like, not the terrifying sort. Just like they were all just that, children. Not something pretending to be one like the creature that had brought her here. 

“So what makes you sleep child?” Jijimon asked, Rey blinked to him. The center of attention of many sentient creatures left her uncomfortable touching Ren for support she grimaced. “Do you not know?” 

“All I’ve known is the DR.” she answered voice edging into irritation. Of course the normal people would just leave her here, Rey frowned. Ren made a noise and she watched as a stream of blue cubes engulfed him. Changing him fast into something else. All the small blunt tentacles now became pointed. The two ‘cat’ years now were more thin, almost a fusion of rabbit/insect like as the digimon stared at it and her. The large eye went from yellow to red, but otherwise Ren remained mostly the same. 

“Rey?” Jijimon asked gently. She looked at the old creature. “You must remember we mean you no harm. What questions we ask are for your own help; perhaps even the solution to your sleep is within our realm.” She sighed letting go of the hard emotions welling up in her, with a sort of a shudder the eye changed back to yellow leaving her to blink between the two digimon. 

“I’ll try, this is all new to me. I… I haven’t felt anything for a long time.” Jijimon motioned the creatures out. 

“Rest and sleep,” she frowned again. Sleep was not something ‘sleepers’ did really. It was more of a shut down of whatever ‘processes’ Ren put their mind through. Slowly it down to a bare minimum to allow the brain to get some kind of rest. Maybe that was what she was under the moment leaving her to feel just a bit more at ease, the faster and more complicated the processes the more the brain rejected the alien thing. That was how most died in Ren, the alienation just too much to bare before the brain basically melted. Leaving the person as what Rey heard called ‘NPC’. 

Though it didn’t supposedly happen to anyone like Finn and the others. Rey settled into the nook, closing her eyes as Ren crawled down to her side staring at her and blinking. “I’ll sleep, can I be alone?” Jijimon nodded, leaving the small room and finally letting her be alone. Rey sat up the moment she thought they were ‘out of ear shot’ if they actually had ears. 

“Ren?” she asked the creature. It was staring at her, blinking looking happy. “I really hope… Finn contacted you.” she petted the top of the creature's head and it made more ‘mature’ sounding coos and noises. “I’m so scared and alone…” she gathered him closer to her and hugged him. If the digimon creature was uncomfortable with her actions it didn’t show as she closed her eyes and tried to ‘sleep’. 

It never came. Rest simply seemed a low state of awareness, the world rushing by her like it usually did when she actually was able to sleep. She heard several voices hushed and quiet. 

“She was just upset. It does not mean anything.” Jijimon said. “We must remain faithful to good hope.” 

“But that is Tsumemon! That confirms she is a part of Diaboromon! Of the other one!” maybe Agumon replied. Jijimon made a shush sound. 

“I do mean what I said, with any person a digimon can do great. It does not matter if that digimon was created to be evil. A person’s heart helps them as it helps you all with partners.” Rey was slowly dragged down into darkness, a seep sort of thing that left even the low state of awareness gone. Opening her eyes again Rey thought that maybe the heavy feeling might mean sleep, but she was floating above a constantly glitching sea. 

It was grey, and stormy with shifting waves and missing portions filled in with rough polygons of bright blue. “I’ve been looking for you for ages.” a male voice spoke, it felt like it was behind her but when she looked there was nothing, looking back to her front she noticed a faraway island. Clouded in darkness and storms with the same kind of glitched lightning. It sounded like Ren’s voice from just before she was deposited here. 

“The final piece.” the voice told her. “You must come to this island.” she narrowed her eyes.Trying to see more of the island, she couldn’t move from the spot she was in. “I can take you back. No one else will.” were the last words she heard before she was back into the nook, fully aware as Agumon excitedly called for her. Rey shivered, pushing herself up and putting her hand to her face. Tsumemon latched onto her forearm crawling with weight back to her shoulder with a bright look to its eye. 

“Rey!” Agumon peeked his head through the doorway. “Finn and the others are back!” Rey’s heart raced up, her hope for getting out of this place now resting on the young man smiling. He looked at Rey almost like he didn’t expect her to still be there. 

“Ah… oh… umm…” Rose put her hand to his shoulder as she pushed past him. 

“Hi! You know my name right?” Monodramon hugged her legs as she petted the creature affectionately. 

“Rose right?” she smiled nodding. 

“Well…” she dropped off. 

“We aint telling Ren.” said a new voice, another boy. This one with curly hair and a swarthy complexion. Leaving Rey to stare at him hope draining out of her chest to lay in a pit in her stomach. 

“POE!” Rose scolded looking back to him. 

“We can’t tell Ren. That thing would wipe this entire place out!” Poe defended. Rey shivered the digimon on her shoulder cooing as it seemed to reach out comforting her. “We can’t take risks for all we know REN is the one controlling Diaboromon!” The others went silent all looking from her to Poe. 

“You understand right Rey?” Finn asked gently. “I mean this place… it is like magic.” Finn smiled and she stared away from him. “I… well the last person is Hux.” he pointed to a red-headed serious looking young man. He had a blue and white human/dragon like digimon near him speaking quietly as he crouched. 

“I need to get back into Ren.” she told them. Hux stood up and offered a smile to her. 

“I think if we destroy Diaboromon that is what can happen.” Hux offered to her. Rey watched him as he approached her. “I’m Veemon’s partner.” he put a hand on top of the digimon’s head still smiling at her. “You’ll be a great help, we can’t stay in here. But you can.” Hux offered out a hand to her and she just stared at it stepping away. 

“I don’t want to be touched.” she told him and he pulled his hand back. 

“Yes well, if Diaboromon brought you here, it is a clear shot that destroying him would allow you to actually log out.” she didn’t feel so convinced, but it might be the sole way she could escape this realm. At least until she confirmed that Ren was, or was not inside the digimon on her shoulder. 

“How did you manage to get a piece of Diaboromon?” he gestured to her shoulder. 

“The… crystalimon? Gave him to me.” Rey answered. Of course they wouldn’t help her, she might try to see if she could find some sort of line coder in here. If she had that she might be able to craft a logout option she could access. Though that sent a chill through her. IF she did that it might boot her out completely, and once out, she didn’t know if one could be put back into Ren if they were like her. 

“Rey?” Finn asked and she perked up looking at him. 

“What?” she answered. 

“Are you really a sleeper?” she hissed out a breath, stomping away towards the smell of more food. It still wouldn’t fill her, that was supposed to be all taken care of by Ren. 

“Of course I am.” she answered. This was a large cauldron of soup, the process of getting bowls dished out by a large monkey like digimon with a chef hat on top of his head and some kind of ‘keychain’ with a teddy bear on him. She shook her head as it offered her a bowl, feeling the uncomprehending weight and texture of the bowl. It tasted like something, tomatoes maybe from the red color. 

“I never met one of you before!” Finn replied, finally getting back close to her. “Ren keeps you all on a mostly separate network.” She sipped the soup, smiling at the digimon. 

“Thank you it's delicious!” she told it and Finn stalled face dropping. 

“You can taste it?” he asked her, she looked back to him a trace of panic entering into her as she offered a newly filled bowl towards Ren. 

“Yes can’t you?” he shook his head looking scared. 

“That's not bad!” Finn told her quickly. “I mean we aren’t put in here like you.” she dropped her hand down, the bowl empty as Ren looked pleased and happy. She rubbed her hand over the side of his head trying not to think and feel. 

“I just want to get out of here. I need to get back to Ren. He must be so worried about me.” she said. 

“Ren is just a program Rey. Something someone a long time ago made.” she swallowed. 

“Long time?” she asked and Finn seemed to blanch. “What year is it?” 

“Um… 782 A-S-E?” he replied. She gave him an uncomprehending stare. “Seven hundred and eighty-two years after the solar event?” Rey looked ahead blank and completely sick. “Are you ok?” he asked her. 

“I’ll be fine.” she said dully. Finn moved to touch her hand and she jerked it away from him before he could touch her. “DO. NOT. TOUCH. ME.” the pure rage almost boiling out of her from some deep unknown place inside. Finn quailed before stepping back.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help you.” she scowled. 

“If you really wanted to help you’d contact Ren.” she snapped and stormed away from the area trying to calm herself. The sudden jerk of rage didn’t want to stop, it was a rare feeling other than the dull lethargic emotions. She wasn’t sure if she was angry at Ren for lying, or at the others who refused to contact Ren. Tsumemon on her shoulder hissed, and the earth around her shook. 

Warnings flashed up in front of her, with another creature in a small box. The same kind of thing that she saw in the Red Room when Ren was loading but with an avatar. “Attack incoming in twelve minutes.” the digimon said. “Area: Meat Forest. If we lose this place our supply of food will be destroyed leaving us unable to function as well.” Rey watched the very video game scene play out her mind crawling with the utter alienation she felt in her head. A blasting pain shot behind her eyes, as she put her hand to her face. The pain subsided a little, Ren on her shoulder rubbing her cheek with its head. 

“I want to go home.” she let out in a small sob. 

“WOO! Another fight! Lets go!” Poe said and started running by her, quickly followed by Rose who gave her a small smile. Finn lingered a little before running to follow. Hux stayed looking down. 

“It makes it easier if you act like you are in a game.” he told her. “It eases the mental strain.” he left walking fast as she recovered herself. Wiping at her face she blinked down to her hand a smear there. Blood, blood was coming out of her nose. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths in and out. 

“You should join them.” Jijimon said behind her. She opened her eyes repeating ‘I can do this’ inside of her head. It did ease the mental strain as she felt the pain subside. It was just a game, just another simulation inside of Ren, leaving her to rush after them, coming up next to Hux with a small smile. 

“Thank you.” she told him and watched him smile. It left a sort of strange feeling of warning in her, the way he smiled. 

“No problem.” he answered and then stayed silent as they left for this ‘meat forest’. Traveling, once on a ‘road’ fast like they were running at several KM per hour. 

**  
  
**

**_Chapter Three_ **

**  
  
**

The ‘meat’ forest was just that. A forest that held trees that grew those large ‘meat on bone’ that she had eaten when she first arrived here. The forest was crawling with small insect like digimon. Both small and large leaving her to stick close by Hux. The only one who seemed more like an adult then the rest. “Rey just how old are you?” Rose asked and cheeked a time device on her wrist. Poe flicked his wrist and an overlay appeared on it. 

“We have five minutes until the attack starts. We should get that digimon volved.” he pointed to her. “Otherwise you are a drag on the party.” Rey glared to Poe. 

“The last birthday Ren celebrated with me was seventeen.” she answered Rose. 

“Wow, after… Hux that makes you the eldest maybe.” Rey smiled back at Rose. “Depends on what day you were born.” Rey forced a wider smile. 

“I don’t remember. Ren… didn’t have a date.” she said. Hux snorted, well at least maybe she wasn’t ancient. Humans aren’t supposed to live for hundreds of years. 

“Well, come on, We’ll help!” Finn motioned her towards the insect digimon as she gave them a dubious look. 

“It really is a video game. Just remember that.” Hux told her and nodded, flicking his wrist and getting the same overlay that Poe had. He typed on boxes on his wrist that she didn’t see. Rey tried the same motion but nothing came up as Finn guided her closer to the other digimon. 

“These are wild digimon, they don’t speak well, and will attack you okay? Just remember your digimon looks to you for guidance on how to fight. If you are in tune you don’t even need to shout commands!” Finn told her brightly. “I’ll fight with you, and let your partner collect the exp.” he flicked his wrist like the others tapping on this as Agumon seemed disappointed. 

“But I want to get stronger too.” the digimon said. 

“I know, but she needs it too!” Agumon thought a moment and nodded. 

“Just sit back and try to attack when you can.” Finn took a single step words the worm like digimon and three of them came down from one of the hanging meat fruits launching an attack. A blurr took her vision as she blinked rapidly, a quasi battle area was now in her vision. A timer ticked down near the corner of her eyes as a overlay was in front of her vision. From basic commands of ‘attack’, ‘defend’ to skill and other terms. That alone helped her to disconnect from the mind-breaking reality she had found herself in. 

“Agumon!” Finn called out the name of some kind of attack. The digimon partner shooting fire from his mouth. “Just defend! It will cut damage down by half!” he called to her. There was a quick shift, like a rapid wave that hit across the entire world. Maybe only a millisecond long, unnoticed by Finn, but she was used to running on the minuscule times. It had been all she knew, the overlay vanished leaving her to feel a crawling sensation in her brain. 

It was like something was inside of the forest that knew they were there. Something evil, and knowing, and it felt like it looked right at her in that moment. The overlay flashed back to life, now she could see health bars as Ren hopped off her shoulder hissing. ‘Destruction Canon’ a voice inside of her head told her. She blinked, and looked to Finn, he looked to her as she took a small breath. 

“Destruction Canon!” Rey called. The world blurred again, the slowing down as Tsumemon made that hissing noise. From the eyeball a wide mouth split open, the eye color turning red before a beam of dark purple energy shot out from the sharp toothed maw. It hit into one of the other digimon and it vanished. Tiny blue data cubes coming off of it and flooding right into Tsumemon. Ren, the digimon seemed to ‘eat’ the cubes and she watched as the little bars reset, growing a little larger. 

Finn was staring at her as she swallowed. “Agumon attack!” he sounded distant, and the other digimon ‘popped’ the data cubes flying right to Ren again. Again he seemed to ‘level’ growing stronger. 

“WEB SHOOTER!” the worm digimon, Wormmon she read on its own stats. It attacked Agumon, and she watched as a status effect seemed to ‘take’ to the digimon. Making it loose speed. Rey paused the timer started to tick down again in her vision. It was her turn again. 

“Tsumemon,” the little digimon floated up, flipping into a floaty 360, happy. “Attack!” it raced up to the wormmon, and used two claws to attack the other digimon. The ‘attack’ glitched through the monster, but still reigistered damage as Ren came back to her side. 

“Yes! Last hit!” Finn said, and commanded another fire breath attack at the digimon. It popped too, the data flinging into Ren. Tinier little cubes started to flood off him as he glowed in blue light. “Good job Rey!” Finn congratulated as the overlay vanished. Showing her the grown stats, levels, all video game related data. She shook her head crouching down by Ren. 

“Are you okay?” she asked. He ‘flew’ up her arm to settle back against her shoulder. The flashing light on him obscured part of her vision. 

“It is ready to digivolve!” Rose supplied running over. “Just… oh… umm… maybe you need to just shout it.” Rose said. Rey stared at her. That same crawling feeling inside of her head returned. 

“Tsumemon… digivolve.” Rey said and he floated off her shoulder back to the ground. Growing now into a mass of cubes. “To…” the voice inside of her head told her a name. “Keramon.” With a happy sort of noise the cubes burst making her fret for a moment until the data came back together forming another digimon in front of her. It still looked a bit like the digimon before, but now had a ‘clown’ like asethetic. With large unblinking yellow eyes as the other humans went silent. 

“Keramon? Why him?” Agumon asked her as she put her hand to her face. “Rey?” recovering she smiled towards the larger digimon. It was about human size now. 

“Can you talk now?” she asked. It made a chuckle noise, and floated around her, putting the long claw like hands onto her shoulders. 

“Agumon can this digimon talk?” she asked the dinosaur directly. 

“It never spoke to us before.” he answered. They all seemed to recover as the meat forest turned a shade of red. 

“Yes! Now to grind for more X-P!” Poe yelled and raced off. Rey watched after him as Rose looked around. Poe came back running right for them with a look of both panic but anger on his face as he stopped in front of them. The digimon that dropped her off raced in behind him as Keramon cackled behind her. 

“If you’re here then that means Ben is around doesn’t it?” Poe demanded it. Rey watched as it floated, menacingly but didn’t speak at all. 

“Master is here.” it stated in that high fake child voice. 

“Ben?” Rey questioned, Finn stepped in front of her as darkness took the entire forest, making it all lit with red light. The person that came out, flanked by two more of the creatures was tall and entirely covered in a sort of black suit of armor. Almost medieval in make Poe and the others tensed the digimon following suit with animal growls. 

“Oh look, the entire gang is here.” he, the enemy said. Rey straightened, his voice was Ren’s, and the voice that was in here head clarified to Ren’s as well. Crawling there in the back of her mind almost smug but unclear in meaning. 

“Shut up and fight Ben!” Poe yelled back, Hux seemed prepared as the rest of them, but a lot more calm then the tense actions of everyone else. 

“Hello Rey.” Everyone looked to her as the voice in her head crawled, pleased and happy. 

“How do you know my name?” she questioned back. Was this Ren, or something else Rey wasn’t sure. 

“You’re the other sleeper.” he stated. “That alone makes you worth knowing.” 

“What do you want Ben?” Poe shot back, raising his fists up like he was going to fight himself. 

“I’m here to take her with me.” They crowded a bit more around her and she stepped back as Ren floated up over her head and placed himself in front of her as well. “They can’t understand what it's like can they?” he asked her directly. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” she answered. 

“You do don’t you?” he stepped forwards and the world blurred again, bringing up the battle screen. Rey’s mind boggled at the utterly unknown stats of the three digimon Ben commanded. “Come with me Rey.” he held his hand out as she stared at him. ‘I will be the one you run to’ his voice said in the back of her mind. “If you don’t want these partners to become data for my digimon you will join me.” 

“Agumon digivolve to Greymon!” Finn called, Agumon blurred into the same digivolution sequence that Keramon went through only now becoming a more massive dinosaur creature. 

“You can’t fight against all of us Ben.” Rose spoke up. “Rey stay behind us, we’ll protect you.” She looked up to the human Ben. 

“If you want me so badly, then come find me.” she spoke motioning only once to Keramon before bolting away, straight into the dark forest as shouts followed her. Keramon floated by her smiling as she went through the forest twisted in random paths until she knew she would be truly lost stalling a moment later breathing in and out heavily. She shook feeling the strain in such an odd way it left her even more breathless. 

“Ren? Was that actually Ren?” she turned to Keramon as it turned, not blinking towards something approaching. ‘Ben’ emerged from the forest, if anything he seemed bored, glitching through the trees that she had avoided. It was like he didn’t even notice them, while she backed away, her back hitting into a tree. It was there, not that this Ben seemed to care. 

“I don’t know what you want.” Rey said as he paused arms length away. 

“I need you.” he stated. Her heart raced in fear as one of the digimon came through the forest, avoiding the trees as it raced to be behind him. “You will come with me.” he held out his hand to her. 

“Are you Ren?” she asked looking from the hand to the covered head. It was in a knights helmet or some kind of dark parody of it. His fingers started to curl body still like he didn’t even breathe. “Keramon?” she whispered, the digimon crackled next to her. 

“You need someone to teach you about this place.” Ben stated flatly. 

“Ren?” The digimon opened its mouth a dark purple substance coming out of it. Jijimon raced between them, slicing the cat paw staff at the digimon by Ben. It stuttered for a moment, then its body burst into cubes, the things shot right into Ben. After a moment, a second or two more the digimon shot back outside forming out of the data cubes once more. 

“Get out of here Ben.” Jijimon said, protecting her. Ben stepped back away, she could feel his eyes staring at her. “You won't take her.” 

“Are you ever going to change yourself back Luke?” Ben snapped as she pushed herself off the tree. The other three came out of the forest heading right for them. Ben growled, and two more of the digimon beside him farmed out. “I will be back.” Ben looked at her and she felt a shiver go down her spine. “They will not ever understand you.” Ben told her, before the form of him burst into the data cubes making her jump. 

The large digimon following the group slid in front of her as the battle screen popped up. “Run like the coward you are Ben!” Poe declared. Rey was staring at Jijimon, it, he looked at her then away. Rey was sure there was more going on here then she, or the four normal people knew. She wasn’t a ‘real’ part of the fight, as the others quickly dispatched the minions cheering as the other digimon grew stronger with the fight. 

“Two levels yes!” Poe called and looked back to her. “Jijimon how come she gains more levels then all of us?” Rey looked back to Keramon and he looked back to her cackling. 

“It is part of the world.” Jijimon said and stroked his beard. “But then it could be she is new.” That seemed to sate Poe, as Finn grinned to her. The ‘warning’ band popped up again and she got a better look at the digimon there. It was a humanoid cyborg digimon, almost always looking tense. 

“Attack abated. We still have our food supply! Congratulations! Go back to the village for your reward!” the digimon said as she put her hand to her face. 

“We will talk there Rey.” Jijimon told her. Rey glared to him, the smooth voice in the back of her head goading the anger running through her. It told her it was good, and she didn’t want to deny it. Finn held out a hand for her and she sighed. Her hand passed right through his avatar, because that is what he was. Finn blinked and she shrugged. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think… you really are a sleeper.” Finn said quietly. 

“Come on, we have to go back.” Rose said brightly. Rey reached out touching the top of Karamon’s head as it made a happy noise beside her. “Did you talk with Ben?” Rose asked her as they slowly made their way outside of the forest. 

“No.” Rey answered. “Who is he?” 

“He was here before us, I don’t know how long but he helped all of us get a partner digimon. But then something happened.” Rose replied. She frowned a little. “It was like he went crazy, but after that he was our enemy.” 

“He was always an ass if you ask me.” Poe told her. Finn rubbed the back of his neck. 

“He was pretty, intense I guess.” Finn added. Rey turned to the silent Hux, he was iddly tapping the wrist overlay before his digimon-was surrounded by the data cubes changing back into the small form of Veemon. 

“He couldn’t log out, who knows how long he had spent inside of this place.” Hux looked to Jijimon, who remained silent. “We should start scheduling shifts.” They all looked to him. “To keep Rey company. Remember we had to log off for those three days? That seemed to be the trigger to change Ben.” 

“Oh, sure. I mean… I can quit my part-time job.” Finn replied. “I think I got enough saved to pay for the connection fee.” Rey listened with a mild bit of horror. 

“You still haven’t paid?” Rose asked him back. 

“Well, I’m not like Hux over here getting through on hacking.” Finn countered as Poe shook his head. Rey stopped walking and they stalled when they noticed she had turning back towards her. “Rey what’s wrong?” 

“You told me it was 782?” she asked Finn. “I… Ren told me I was put in before the solar storm.” Hux grimaced, and the other three eyes widened. 

“You’re an angel?” Poe questioned her. She frowned to Poe. “There are three pods inside of the blue butterfly. We call them angels since REN doesn’t allow anyone near them. Others have maintenance on them.” 

“What? There are people outside of me?” Finn shook his head motioning her. Rey huffed and started walking. 

“No. You are fully maintained by Ren.” Hux told her she turned to him. “I sent a preliminary schedule to the rest of you. Tell me if it needs to be changed.” Poe shook his head. 

“Sure ARMITAGE.” Hux glared to Poe. Rey glanced between them, sensing tension between the two. 

“That is your name?” Rey added more gently, Hux frowned but nodded. 

“His dad is in the military.” Poe snapped like it was meant as an insult. 

“That’s… not bad.” Rey said quietly. Poe turned to her, Rose and Finn exchanging a quick glance before she caught she the slightest sort of smile on Hux’s face before he controlled himself. “Are there still… zones?” she questioned. “Cities safe zones from the statilies?” 

“Well yeah, but there hasn’t been a fall for… fifty years. They are actually planning on sending a probe up!” Finn told her. She shivered. 

“REN doesn’t allow anyone near the three near his core. It is unknown who they are, but scans showed two males and one female.” Hux told her, they exited the forest. 

“Related?” she asked. He shook his head. “Can that be tested?” 

“Yes it can, I would guess technology has much advanced since you were… fully aware of others.” Hux told her patting the air over her shoulder, knowing he couldn’t touch her. She smiled at him. “Let me see if I can’t get…” he paused putting his hand towards his face in thought. “I would need your permission.” he said. 

“For what?” she asked. 

“Veemon?” he asked the digimon nodded. “Can you find a bracelet for Rey? I wouldn’t be able to touch it but you can get something for her.” Veemon nodded smiling brightly towards her. “I am going to try to get you a Pulse Link.” he told her. He flicked his wrist showing that overlay on it. 

“Nearly everyone has one, but it works as a all encompassing computer.” he gestured over the overlay. “People have games on them and some have glasses that link them to them to play out in the real world.” he explained. Hux tapped on a few of the hazy squares, she couldn’t ‘see’ the things not truly anyways. “I have a spare that I can see about putting inside a bracelet inside of here.” 

“You are a hacker?” she asked him. He paused nodding. “REN kills your type.” 

“He hasn’t done that for a long time now.” Hux told her smiling. “But even so, I don’t try to alter a person. I actually found the pathway here, and they followed me.” he pointed to the other three. “I think first Ben was happy, but for remembrance days…” he dropped off. “Three days were we live without all the tech we have in order to remember those that died with the Solar Flare. Its world wide.” he told her quickly. “I regret deeply celebrating it. Maybe if I had been here Ben would not have changed.” 

“Thank you… for telling me this.” she told him and frowned. “But… how can I be alive?” he stalled walking for a moment, they were just now getting to the village. The many other digimon congratulating them happily. 

“We don’t know.” Hux told her. “The other cocoons have been studied, but they are nothing like the other three. Those other cocoons are just that. They are there to keep the sleepers comfy and well as they are linked into REN. The other three we can only observe from afar.” 

“It's Nanities I told you.” Finn supplied coming back into the conversation. 

“Nanites can’t exist.” Hux shot back. 

“How else can you explain her?” Finn gestured to her. “Didn’t you look for her records?” Rey turned back to Hux he sighed. 

“When I left I hacked into the sleeper network to see if there were records of you. But there was nothing. I do apologize for that, but I thought you might be another hacker.” She shrugged. 

“So I have nothing?” she asked back. 

“You have us and the digimon!” Rose supplied brightly. Rey smiled but looked to Jijimon who wandered off from the large group. “We are your friends Rey, all of us.” 

“Okay.” She smiled allowing them to pull her into a celebration. She could only touch the things within the actual digital world as Hux moved off to the side tapping at his wrist rapidly as Veemon held up a small bracelet staring at the object with minimal blinking. 

“Did you ever meet anyone outside of the sleeper network?” Finn asked her as she settled down between two plant-like digimon. Keramon chasing after a group of the baby digimon. They seemed in between terror and childlike joy. She shrugged looking down at another but smaller chunk of meat. 

“I don’t know. I used to think everyone I saw was an NPC.” she told him honestly. “Something Ren created for me to feel more at ease. But then… maybe they really were people.” 

“They could have been the mental ghosts!” Rose supplied. “The ones that couldn’t keep the strain, my mother says Ren keeps a mental map of everyone. So they could be the ghosts of all the dead.” Rey shivered put off the meal. It wasn’t as though she was really eating it anyways.

“You really are one of the angels?” Poe asked her she shrugged. 

“I guess? I only know what Ren has told me.” Poe shook his head. 

“That fucking machine.” Poe snapped. “Why we even think that it's okay is a mystery.” 

“What?” Rey asked back. 

“The sleeper sickness. We just… give the people to REN. Most people don’t even think about it.” Finn told her. “My own parents are in there somewhere. Hux had tried to find an access to them, but REN… you know how he treats hackers right?” She gave a small nodd. 

“It's nearly impossible, Hux is good, but he has to be careful.” Rose told her. 

“I understand.” Rey said, not feeling like she really did. “Do you guys have to go soon?” they exchanged a glance. “I’ll be fine.” she told them. She looked up to where Jijimon was standing, looking over a small cliff face towards the nearby ocean. “I have the digimon.” she smiled a fake feeling smile. But the rest nodded believing her. 

“Just remember we will come back okay? I swear it.” Finn tried to pat her hand, but it just passed through her. “Sorry.” 

“Just how do you move like people?” she asked. 

“OH! That would be the glasses! They connect to your mind… and… well copy what you are thinking. It takes a lot of getting used to. I just barely had gotten mine. You have to be clear in what you are thinking of. There is…” Rose paused. “Thirty millisecond delay at the most.” 

“I see.” Rey said. “So they don’t know still what makes people sleep?” she questioned. 

“No.” Poe told her flatly. Veemon raced up to her holding out the large bracelet to her. Rey looked up to Hux and smiled, taking the bracelet and putting it over her wrist. She tried the same wrist snap as the others popping up an overlay onto her forearm. 

“Play with it, I put in the program we use to examine this world.” he told her and made a few moves over the overlay on his arm. Vanishing the next moment in a stream of tiny data cubes. Rey frowned looking over the small cubes with little labels on them. 

“You should be able to communicate with us, here.” Finn told her snapping through his own and making a ‘ping’ on hers. “There! Now you can talk to us in the real world I hope!” he smiled brightly at her. Poe and Rose quickly sent their own pings to her before they all logged out leaving her alone in the world. Touching the ‘message’ one she stared at the empty fields between her friends and herself. 

“Are they really people?” she asked aloud. The digimon went quiet looking at her and she startled herself into the same silence. A fizzle, like the entire bracelet vibrated with something entering into it and a ‘new’ contact appeared there. Finn and the rest all had their faces next to them but this one was just a black square. 

‘Hello.’ it stated in a bubble before she flicked her wrist shutting down the overlay before standing up and heading right for Jijimon. 

“He called you Luke. That is a human name.” she said directly, the digimon looked up at her as she stared down at him. 

“I was human…” he admitted. “I was the first scan, but well, the flare hit as I was scanned. I saw this world created Rey.” she frowned at him. “I became like this, and… what?” 

“I was here before then. WHO are you?” Jijimon tilted his head in confusion. “Are you a sleeper like me?” she paused. “One of the angels?” 

“Do you remember the world outside Rey?” Jijimon gestured out towards the ocean. Rey blinked up, and saw a distant island there. “Ben is dead. Diaboromon killed him.” she couldn’t take her eyes off the island, a distant bump obscured by a very real sort of render distance. If that was a ‘render’ distance that was. “We must beat the evil digimon, if we are to get away. All of us.” 

“Why can’t you tell me the truth?” she asked Jijimon, the possible human being, now Digimon beside her. 

“The truth is unknown isn’t it? Do you think if I told you that you would be able to know?” Jijimon walked away from her as she watched, Keramon came up beside her, holding a full berry bush uprooted to her with a long mindless sort of grin. 

“Thank you Ren.” she sat down on the edge of the cliff as Ren plucked off small berries handing them over to her. They were sweet, somewhat tart to her tongue leaving her to sigh in little relief. A ghost, she must be another ghostly presence inside of Ren and here. The others couldn’t likely ever understand, maybe Luke, the Jijimon could. But obviously he was more keen on remaining enigmatic. Rey flicked her wrist, biting her lower lip as she clicked on Finn’s face, ignoring the dark one. 

‘Hello?’ she messaged waiting. Waiting for what felt like a long time, and still nothing. A sick feeling in her stomach dropped down. There was no real ‘sun’ here. It was always ‘light’ or dark in places like there was one. The world a balmy feeling around her of general warmth. But nothing was in the sky but distant clouds and a grey-blue sky. 

She clicked out of the message to Finn, finger hovering over the dark square she looked to Keramon, to Ren before sighing and touching it. The same sort of ‘glitch’ wave as before rushed over the world. ‘Is this Ben?’ she asked as soon as the wave passed. Nothing seemed to have changed Karamon putting berries into its mouth with a cackle. 

‘You and I are alone in this world.’ was the reply. ‘The others can’t ever know what it is like to never sleep. To never dream.’ she frowned over it. 

‘Is this Ben?’ she asked again. 

‘Ben is nothing but a ghost of something that once was.’ Rey blinked from her wrist to the island. ‘Do you think you will be different?’ 

‘Are you on the island?’ 

‘You are not alone Rey.’ she glanced over to the digimon by her. 

‘Is this Ren?’ there was no reply just then, she felt something ache inside of her. ‘You are not alone either.’ she supplied. ‘I can’t leave, you don’t have to do this anymore.’ 

‘The path is open to you.’ she blinked, looking up to the island again. For a moment there was a ghostly glitch again, a sort of hazy glass like bridge that floated above the ocean. It vanished in another wave as she stood turning around to come face to face with ‘Ben’. Again about and arms length away as she eyed him carefully. 

“Ben?” she asked carefully, eyeing him as he extended the hand out. “Do you think we can actually touch?” it, he looked down to the thick glove covering his hand. “Ben?” she asked carefully, stepping closer to the being in front of her. “Are you just another monster?” 

She watched, almost fascinated as it rose, the hands removing the helmet and looking down at her. He was taller than her, taller then Poe or the others. He looked just like REN, the human avatar that she had seen before. “Ren?” she asked in a quiet breath as he frowned down at her. The helmet vanished as he held out his hand between them. She eyed it dubiously, the movement felt fast, it really wasn’t as he removed the glove. Holding his human hand out to her as she swallowed. 

“You are not truly alone inside of this world.” he told her Rey glanced up to his face. Searching for something off, something that could be this evil digimon. It was an ache inside of her that drew her to put her hand hesitantly inside of his, holding onto the human in front of her. She couldn’t even take her eyes off his. Either this Ben, or Ren to her it didn’t matter. She was holding the hand of a real being. 

“Neither are you.” she answered and smiled. The avatar exploded. Shattering as the staff of Jijimon slashed down on it. “NO!” she yelled watching as the data streamed away vanishing just as she noticed where it was heading to. Out towards the ocean and island there. She hoped that the person was safe, that the broken avatar could be pieced together. “How could you?” she demanded to the digimon. 

“That wasn’t real Rey.” it tried to say. Rage slithered into her heart as she shook looking down. Keramon made an evil cackle and the battle screen overlaid her vision. Her enemy was Jijimon in front of her. “Rey. You don’t want this.” Jijimon told her. 

“THAT WAS A PERSON!” she yelled to him. “Not a monster!” Keramon glitched, body shuddering with the evolution glow. 

“Rey you are throwing yourself away for a pair of pretty eyes!” Jijimon told her. “That is what Diaboromon does!” she bristled snarling in rage. “It infected Ben, like it infected you.” 

“Lets go Ren.” the battle overlay vanished and she raced away from him. Heading right down the cliff as the digimon called after her. Ren followed after her still glowing she turned to it and gave a tiny nod. He knew the rage inside of her and changed, evolving into the same digimon as the ones that followed Ren. Carefully it used the six tendrils to pick her up, placing her on the back as it floated gracefully over the waves. It seemed to follow the same road that she saw as they raced over the flat ocean. The purchase she had was mostly stable, two of the tendrils deployed to steady her as she watched the island come closer and closer. 

**  
  
**

**_Chapter Four_ **

**  
  
**

When she got to the island it was crawling with large and small digimon. A rocky sort of creation there were missing portions of it just like the ‘textures’ never actually loaded. Ruined buildings that only vaguely resembled something a person might make dotted around in the treeless wasteland. She felt the bracelet shake and brought it back up to her face, flicking her wrist briefly to bring up several panicked messages from Finn, Poe, and Rose. Hux was silent, as she stared at them. 

‘Jijimon said you were able to get to the island!’ Finn said. ‘You need to wait! How did you open the path?’

‘There must be very strong digimon there. You need to wait for the rest of us!’ Poe said. 

‘Please stay safe Rey!’ Rose told her. She looked up at the wandering digimon, they didn’t even seem to notice her. 

“If we approach them, then they will attack right?” she asked the Chrysalimon, it made a growling noise. “You still can’t talk?” One of the tendrils came up around her shoulders and she held a hand out feeling it. There was still that crawling sensation in the back of her head. “Stronger?” she asked. It seemed to nod, agreeing with her. 

She felt exhausted, but in the end, Rey knew she didn’t have to sleep either. Sleep was meaningless, and so too was even the exhaustion through running. The feeling faded away as she started towards one of the ‘weaker’ looking small digimon not exactly knowing if it was weaker or not. But it would go down, and as Ren grew stronger she’d finally get able to get out. They said so, they said she could get out and escape. Maybe it was hours later but the area seemed to never be exhausted of digimon, as soon as one group, or one was beaten another would take its place as soon as she walked away from it. 

“REY!” She startled, looking towards the distant voice. They were running on the road, still partway visible in the sky. Finn, Rose, and Poe. She turned towards the island further and ran, heading into the center and through a large stonehenge structure. It acted much like the doorway when she went into the farming simulator, acting as a door or portal into a area that reminded her of a ruined castle. If that castle was built by an alien or machine trying to peek into what a human might consider a ‘castle’ by human standards. 

“Ren?” the digimon materialized right by her and she breathed out a sigh of relief. “Almost there?” again it seemed to nod, staring right ahead. There were no digimon here, but it was a straight sort of look into a throne room. There what had to be Diaboromon was, sitting behind Ben like a guard. Ben was slumped on the throne like he was sleeping. She blinked as datacubes materialized another ‘Ben’ in front of her, with the helmet, and armor over him, he didn't even seem to notice what was behind him. 

“You came.” his voice was happy as she stared at the clone. “The others dont listen, they can’t hear it can they?” Rey looked to the sleeping Ben and back to the clone. 

“You’re dead aren’t you?” she asked him. “You’re dead…” the clone stayed silent. Of course, one of the few that could know what it was like never being able to sleep. 

“Sleeping.” The digimon beside her spoke. Rey slowly looked to it, another voice copy of Ren’s. “The last piece.” 

“What does that mean?” she asked, stepping towards the clone. Diaboromon made a roar as she held up her arms protectively. A forgotten sort of human instinct bottled away in her head. “Ren? I need to know these things.” She was in arms reach of the clone. “I need to know the truth of just what everything is.” 

“You were so lonely.” the large digimon by the sleeping Ben stated. “So unhappy. Are you ever happy Rey?” it asked her. 

“Ren? Are you actually REN?” she asked. There was a low cackle from it, the battle screen floated to existence in front of her vision. “I don’t want to fight!” she yelled. The same sort of distortion wave came through, taking the overlay out. “I want to know what is going on. Please. Just tell me, like a person.” 

“An angel.” the clone spoke she looked at it. “There are three.” he pointed towards the silent ‘Ben’ on the throne. “One.” he stated. Then turned pointing outside of the castle. “Two.” he moved and pointed to her. “Three.” 

“Yes?” she asked when it went silent. “Please. I can handle it, Ren if this is all you please.” 

“All of them were inside of me.” Diaboromon said, she didn’t look at it, staring at the clone. “There at the beginning. Pioneers of a Virtual Cyberspace. Humans are so fragile. Do you remember your fragility?” She frowned looking at the digimon. 

“You are all I remember REN.” she snapped. “Stop it. Stop all of this and just tell me directly. I don’t even know if you are telling me the truth now.” That crawling sensation of a voice in the back of her head was still there. She didn’t think it was Ren, or even something close to this Ben, or the clone. Something else, maybe the digimon by her or something with her real body. 

“If I had your mind, I could become more.” the digimon said. The clone and ‘Ben’ vanished. “So many minds, so many different things sleeping. But none fit the empty place.” There was a cracking noise, the wave struck again, taking out half of the castle. It never really existed, not like she existed. “You are the last piece.” 

“The last piece of what?” 

“Humanity… the real.” it reached out towards her. “Don’t you remember Rey? They put you away, with the creation. The original. Safe away in that fragile matter.” Its large hand came around nearly touching her. The digimon by her snapped one of the tendrils as it severed the hand as the other screamed in rage falling backwards. 

“Ren?” she asked softly. The small amount of data that came off the limb vanished into it, and the digimon started to glow. “You ready?” she asked. It gave a low nod. “Then let's do this how it wants to.” She pointed to the creature, the hand still glitched off emitting a small stream of data from it like blood. 

“If you are Ren, then obviously, you are corrupted.” she accused it. “I know Ren, and I know he wouldn’t hurt me.” 

“DEAD. You will be DEAD. I will have it. I will have humanity.” the digimon spoke. Another wave, and finally the portal behind her seemed to open back up. She felt the small waves before the other three came in, looking panicked as they loaded into the room. “MINE! MINE MINE MINE MINE!” it screamed as her short time friends flanked her. 

“Rey? It's been two months, where…” Finn began but quieted, staring at the enemy digimon. 

“There isn’t time for that.” Poe said, just like with hers, their partners came into existence by them, spreading out so there was plenty of room for the massive digimon now. 

“I will consume you.” The Diaboromon told her. The battle overlay came back in as she turned to her partner. 

“Ren, digivolve.” There was a panicked look towards her from the other digimon as the creature changed. It seemed a drastic change, from a mostly insecot like digimon to a large rabbit like digimon. There seemed to be a sigh of relief through the other digimon, as the rabbit digimon reached out placing a large hand on top of her head. “Can you talk to me now please? Please Ren.” she whispered. 

“You don’t like this?” he asked her. Rey frowned shaking her head. “Ben made it for you, all my avatars are made from him. Why don’t you like this Rey?” 

“You can’t just drop people into things Ren.” she answered looking to the frozen friends. “They aren’t even real are they?” Ren went silent and dropped its body down so that their heads were level. “Please. Just stop.” The digimon sighed. Rey shut her eyes, as she felt the waves of distortion rush over her skin. When she opened them again she was in the Red Room. Still in the mind boggling render of it with ‘Ren’ in front of her. 

“Thank you.” she sighed putting her hand to her face. “Why?” she asked him. 

“You don’t respond positively to any of the parameters. Ben was tasked as your human caretaker he thought a more hands on experience would help you.” Ren explained to her. Rey sighed. The crawling in the back of her head silent. “We have been trying to ensure your health and safety Rey.” 

“I told you, you can’t just DROP me into that. Let me choose that, let me actually be with other people.” Ren looked down and away from her seeming to think. If a quantum computing AI machine could actually ‘think’. 

“You’ve spoken to Ben directly.” she scowled at Ren. “Hux. The avatar, that was him.” Ren told her. “I’ve kept your human interactions to a minimum. Ben… is able to bypass many of my locks.” 

“Ren, let me see other people. Please.” she begged him. 

“You are the only one left Rey. Without you what is my purpose?” Ren asked her. Rey felt her stomach drop at the strange sort of emotion that entered her. “They are all gone aside from you. I don’t want you to leave me.” He held his hands out to her. “I have no purpose. You are my purpose.” 

“Ren… I… need to be around people.” she told him. “Just let me be around people. I’m not asking you to let me go.” 

“But you will want to go. You will leave like the rest.” He slowly advanced on her until she was pinned against the wall behind her. “They all left, one by one, two by two, until you. You are the only one.” She shuddered, shutting her eyes. “See how I can touch you now?” his hand came up tilting her head up to face the avatar not that she opened her eyes.“Stay.” 

“Ren, I can’t.” she told him. He ground his teeth leaning closer to her. 

“I can be more human for you. See?” he said quietly. She winced when his lips touched the ‘skin’ of her temple. “Don’t ask to leave. I wont let you leave.” 

“Ren, please, just listen to me.” she begged, Ren moved enough away to let her huff a breath out in relief. “I’m not leaving. I just want to talk to another human being.” 

“I can be human. I have the thoughts of all the others. The memories. I can be human for you.” she grimaced. “They can’t take you.” 

“Because you’ll kill me.” the silence was heavy between them. “You’ll kill me, to keep me.” 

“I have every single tiny neuron that exists inside of you Rey. I know you, and know you don’t want to leave.” he answered finally. “So drop the matter. This is a command.” 

“Ren, look at me.” Rey gestured to herself and Ren obeyed. “Let me go. This isn’t who you are, I know you too, and you’ve always cared about me. Just how much damage is this causing me?” she gestured around her. Ren looked away. “I can’t stay, not like this.” she made another gesture to herself. “Not as I really am, it would be a lie and you know it.” 

“I can fix the damage.” he answered. 

“But I still wouldn’t be ME.” the world around her dissolved, back to the simple world and she swallowed now feeling the strange sort of floating feeling of having ‘something’ under her feet yet not. The Avatar went next, becoming the humanoid blob. “Thank you.” she told him. “Now let me go.” 

“You wont come back.” he told her. Rey let out a breath, stepping up to Ren and touching the blob, feeling the strange weight of it. It was like trying to put her hand on a liquids surface, she would find out later. 

“I will. That game? It is good, make it so that we can all play.” he turned away from looking at her. “I will come back and talk to you everyday.” 

“A person’s day is so long.” the voice was distant, sad. 

“But there would be so many people that come to play it, so you won't be lonely.” 

“I want you. No one else.” Ren told her. 

“I’m sorry Ren… but you can’t have me. Not if you are going to hurt me.” finally it turned back to her. “You are hurting me.” 

“You will come back?” the question was quiet, Rey felt a hope finally blossom in her chest. 

“Of course I will.” she smiled to Ren. “As long as I can.” The world around her went black, all sensation shut down from her senses. 

**  
  
**

**_Chapter Five._ **

**  
  
**

When she finally awoke from the nothingness Rey was gasping in and out. A completely heavy feeling in all her limbs as there was loud insidictint noises all around her. “Scans positive.” said someone as she finally blinked her eyes open. Sensations were rough, the light blinding, as someone shined a brighter light in front of her eyes. “Pupils dilate normally.” 

“Back off, you are all scaring her.” ‘Ren’s’ voice snapped. “No one who came out has had any medical problems.” Rey blinked her eyes back open, real sight finally coming to as she oggled towards many medical personnel dressed in white clothes swarmed away from her. The Actual Ben, very much more human looking then even the well done render Ren made smiled as he settled down on one knee in front of her. 

“Rey is it?” he asked her. She nodded lightly swallowing with much greater difficulty then in the DR. “I’m Ben.” she looked around herself, she was inside of one of the cocoons that had been inside of Ren. “You are outside of R-E-N. I don’t know how exactly, but you are the last sleeper that was inside of him.” he smiled to her as she tried to move. 

“Ren?” she questioned. 

“Behind you.” he pointed as she with some difficulty with muscles that weren’t entirely used to it to look behind her at the Blue Butterfly. She sighed in relief relaxing back down. “Ren let you go very suddenly. Do you remember your time inside?” 

“Yes?” she asked back confused. 

“Good, that is a good sign. Ren is able to override memories, most don’t remember.” He touched his temple smiling comfortingly to her. “I was the first in. He let me remember everything as I was the first out too. Leading the way as it were.” 

“But… me?” she asked him. 

“Ren locked your pod closer to you and seemed to have spent a lot more resources on you then the rest, more and more so until you were the last one out.” she stared at the vaulted ceiling that the BB unit was in. “Our records say you were five when you went in.” 

“My parents? Did I have parents?” 

“Everyone has parents Rey.” Ben told her, holding a hand out to her. Her clothes were just simple bands to cover modesty, one of the medical people gave her a heavy feeling coat as she stood wobbling on legs that didn’t feel like they could support her. “They were lost during the storm. Its been twelve years since that day.” Rey sighed running a hand through her extremely long hair. 

“He said you were this… avatar called Hux…. and made himself look like you.” Ben shrugged. 

“I used to talk to you until Ren sealed you up. I talked to everyone, but as more and more people were found inside Ren and woken up… he sealed you more and more inside.” he blushed. “You seemed to like it.” she gave Ben a skeptical look. “Ren noticed that, I think he may have cameras.” 

“I need to go back in…” Ben glanced down at her, he was tall. “I made a promise.” 

“I uhh….you want to go back in?” he asked she nodded. 

“Ren… he’s lonely.” 

“I can’t imagine that, He… is a computer Rey. Computers don’t feel.” she shook her head looking to the BB unit as he slowly guided her away from it. 

“He does.” she grabbed the front of Ben’s shirt pulling him down. “You can connect with him right?” Ben grabbed off a small bracelet on his wrist. Sliding it over hers. “Like that thing I made, once Ren realized I took over that traitor guy I made he booted me out. But you can probably convince him its you.” Rey sighed in relief. “Do you… not remember out here?” she glanced up to Ben and then back down to her wrist, snapping it. The overlay didn’t appear like it did in the DR, but it was close enough that she was able to access the same messaging thing with it. 

“Did you message Ren like this?” she asked Ben reached over, tapping the holographic overlay, the messages were mostly about Ben trying to convince Ren to allow him access back inside the DR. She turned from Ben to start messaging Ren herself, staring with the same data key that had kept her mostly safe until she let Ren have it. That was probably what allowed him to drop her into that game world. 

‘I’m here Ren.’ she told him, looking back at the BB unit before it vanished from site. ‘How long has it been for you?’ she asked back when Ren didn’t reply. 

‘An eternity.’ the reply came. 

‘I am just outside of the BB, can’t you see me?’ 

‘Yes. But no access. When are you coming back?’ Rey felt a chill go down her back but leveled Ben with a hard look. 

“I made a promise. Ren… needs people.” Ben raised his hand to rub the back of his head. “What about the DR, the video game with the monsters?” 

“That was just me and Ren messing around in Coding before I woke.” She scoffed. “What?” 

“I have no ability with that, no wonder my realm was so bad.” Ben blinked before sharing a small laugh. “But I can go back in right?” 

“If you really must…” she grabbed the real Ben’s hand and straightened herself. 

“He isn’t just a machine. He is my life.” she told him. “I want to see him again.” 

“Well… we can start on having you learn more about him I guess.” Ben replied guiding her to a small medical wing to be further poked and prodded until they confirmed she was healthy. When she finally entered back into the DR, Ren was waiting, like it had been a million years or more since she last was there. Even if it was only two days. He seemed to have changed little, or maybe a lot during the time, refining the DR more. 

“You came back?” he asked her as she watched the strange Digital world come back into place. With the little monsters in it, it would be adoringly popular. 

“I promised I would Ren.” she told him, the blob, the strange sort of inhuman shape. “You know, why dont you take Jijimon’s place? You are the first one aren’t you?” The blob looked at her and then back to the world. “He was based on a person right?” 

“That one was always an odd one, even strange to me.” Ren told her but nodded. The shape altering and changing to the humanoid digimon. “Uncontrollable.” 

“I guess a true ghost?” Ren looked up at her as she reached out, touching the top of the digimons head. “I’m just glad to be here with you Ren.” she told him smiling. “Of my own power.” she added a moment later maybe too long for the computer being in front of her. But still, he seemed to understand now. 

“I suppose I can help send all those that play on their quests.” Ren said. 

“I’ll be glad to be the first!” he nodded as she stood looking out at the more safe looking DR. Now that she had a device that would shield her mind from the processes it left her more relieved that anything that Ren could do wouldn’t hurt her. 

****  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Ren's purpose IS to keep those in a coma safe and have their mental wellbeing taken care of. But when they found a cure for the 'sleepers' he was happy, since that is to be expected, but as people 'vanished' from him he grew more human as it were. Until Rey was the last human actually inside of Ren. Ben has been trying to help Rey escape. The blue butterfly is the DR's interpretation of Ben's hacking until Ren makes a copy to make Rey think its bad within the digi-world. Ren wanted to showcase with that, that Rey shouldn't 'want' to wake up as it were as any normal person can't you know stay 'awake' for years. Luke was someone 'saved' by Ben but a mental copy of Luke stayed inside of Ren. Think of luke as like I said a ghost inside of a machine.


End file.
